Silverware container



Sept. 9, 1952 M. I. NAKEN SILVERWARE CONTAINER Filed July 8, 1950 %/B rjNVE/VTOR.

Patented Sept. 9, 1952 STATES Forster; 2,609,921.-:.V" I

SILVERWARE CONTAINER? Morris I. Naken, Chicago, -Ill.t Ap lication July 8, 1950, serial No. 172.720

. 11 This invention relates to contai'ners for silverware, and more particularly to a container where in the lid comprises novel means for storing elongated utensils, such as knives, of various lengths. The present invention is an improvement of that disclosed in my copending. application, Serial No. 159,087, filed April 29, 1950, in the United States Patent Office.

A primary object of the invention is to devise means accommodating quick insertion and removal of knives of various lengths, without the necessity of moving any parts of the container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container in which the separate compartments thereof are each adapted to contain knives of various lengths.

Another object of the invention is to prevent excessive movement and accidental displacement of the relatively short knives, as well as those of relatively greater length.

The foregoing and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following specification and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view of the novel container with the lid open;

Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views on the lines 22 and 33, respectively, of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the novel retainer bracket.

Describing the invention in detail, the container generally designated 2 is preferably lined with fabric 4, as best seen in Figs. 2 and 3, said fabric being treated with any suitable tarnish resistant material.

A lid generally designated 6 is hinged as at 8 to the container and comprises front and rear walls I and It, as well as spaced side walls l4, preferably lined with fabric I6 (Figs. 2 and 3) treated with any suitable tarnish resistant material.

The lid 6 is provided with a guide bar [8 pivoted thereto as at and preferably adapted to maintain the lid 6, when open, in a forwardly tilted position, as described in said copending application.

The rear wall I2 of the lid 6 in open position affords a seat or support for the handles of short and long knives or similar utensils designated 22 and 23, respectively, and a retainer bracket 24 is provided for said handles. The bracket 24 comprises a web or strap 26 and spaced legs 28 extending therefrom toward the lid 6 to afford separate compartments or receptacles for the handles of respective knives, as more fully described in said copending application.

"The lidli is alsoapi ovidedwitli a novel bracket te ror retaining tlie knife-blades; said bracket being shown in detail in Fig. 4. and comprising a retainer web or strap 32 of wood or any other suitable material, and having spaced legs 34 adapted to define receptacles for the respective knife blades. As best seen in Figs. 2 and 3, the Web 32 and legs 34 are slotted as at 36 to accommodate a retainer bar 3'! which is glued or otherwise secured in the slot 36. Also a top retainer bar 38 is glued or otherwise secured to the web 32 and legs 34 and is disposed abovethe bar 3'5 in the open position of the lid 6.

The bar 31 defines a passage 40 with the inner surface of the lid 6, and the bar 38 defines a preferably narrower passage 42, said passages serving a purposehereinafter described.

As best seen in Fig. 3, the shorter knives 22 engage an inwardly facing surface of the web 32 and with the lid 6 open or closed are limited in their movement away from the bracket 34 by the retainer bar 37, thereby preventing accidental displacement of the shorter knives from the brackets 24 and 30. The shorter knives 22 are inserted and removed by lifting their blades into the passage 40, thereby accommodating outward swinging movement of the handles as shown in phantom lines in Fig. 3.

As best seen in Fig. 2, the blades of the longer knives 23 normally rest against an inwardly facing surface of the bar 31 and are aligned with the bar 38 which, in open or closed position of the lid 5, prevents accidental displacement of these longer knives. These knives may be removed by inserting their blades into the passage 42 and swinging the handles outwardly, as shown in phantom lines in Fig. 2.

Thus it will be seen that the novel retainer means are effective to prevent accidental displacement of either long or short knives, with the lid open or closed, and to accommodate insertion and removal of both types of knives without moving any part of the device.

Changes may be made in form and construction without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages, and the right is hereby reserved to make all changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is follows:

i. In a lid for a silverware container, the combination of a knife support on said lid facing upwardly in open position thereof, a retainer spaced from the lid and projecting upwardly from said support to engage knife handles seated thereon, a bracket carried by the lid above said support and comprising a downwardly extending retainer surface spaced from the lid and adapted to engage certain knife blades, and spaced downwardly facing abutments disposed inwardly of said surface and spaced from the lid, the lower abutment being spaced from the lid a greater distance than the upper abutment, the vertical distance between said abutments and also the vertical distance between the lower edge of said surface and the lower abutment being greater than the vertical depth of the retainer, whereby the blades of knives carried by said support are adapted to engage one of said abutments to prevent accidental displacement of the knives from said retainer and retainer surface.

2. In a lid for a silverware container, a support on said lid facing upwardly in open position thereof and adapted to carry knife handles, and a bracket above said seat comprising a web spaced from the lid for limiting movement of knife blades therefrom when said handles are carried by said support, and spaced upper and lower downwardly facing abutments projecting from said web toward said lid, the upper abutment being spaced from the lid to define a passage for certain knife blades, and the lower abutment being spaced a greater distance from the lid than said upper abutment to define a passage for other knife blades.

MORRIS I. NAKEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 418,241 Great Britain Oct. 22, 1934 492,491 Great Britain Sept. 21, 1938 

